Thursday, December 17, 2009

Virginia crossover leaders, MUNICIPAL WASTE will be taking over the airwaves on Sirius XM's Liquid Metal (Sirius 27/XM 42) TOMORROW, December 18th. The day starts off in the morning when Liquid Metal's, Zeena welcomes frontman, Tony Foresta and guitarist Ryan Waste into the studio for a special 3 part interview that touches on the band's recent headlining tour, their hit album, MASSIVE AGGRESSIVE and much more. Part one will start around 9:30 am EST with parts 2 and 3 airing at 10:30 am EST and 11:30 amEST respectively.

At 12 pm EST, join Tony and Ryan as they take over Liquid Metal and spin an hour's worth of their favorite songs by bands like MERCYFUL FATE, CRO-MAGS, WITCHFINDER GENERAL, HOLOCAUST, ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT and more. A repeat of this broadcast will also air THIS SATURDAY, December 19th at 9 pm EST.

Join MUNICIPAL WASTE as they take over Sirius XM's Liquid Metal tomorrow, December 18th. The festivities kick off around 9:30am EST on Sirius 27/XM 42. For more info on Liquid Metal and how you can listen to the MUNICIPAL WASTE takeover, go to http://www.sirius.com/liquidmetal.

MetalSucks named "Wrong Answer" as one of their top videos of 2009 and simply said, "If you don't agree with us that this video rules, you might suffer the same fate as the contestants therein." Watch the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bJ9bYCmO2c

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Santa Claus has read your list, and this year will make your biggest wishcome true - British crossover thrashers SSS have released a free Christmassong!

The Liverpool thrashers have taken a moment out of getting knee-deep inmince pies to think of others at this festive time of year and to give youall a special treat with their brand new, free Christmas song, "MerryChristmaSSS".

Earache Records caught up with SSS frontman Foxy to quiz him about allthings Christmas:

Q: Why have you done a free Christmas song?

Foxy: "We are following in the footsteps of some of the greatest Christmassongs ever written from yesteryear - Slade, Wizzard, Bing Crosby, Nat KingCole, Shakin Stevens, FEAR and Band Aid - that have all placed themselvesfirmly in our hearts and on cheap Christmas compilation CDs at this time ofyear. Now here's our meagre festive rattler that will be played for yearsto come at family discos and shake the false teeth from all our nans'heads."

Q: Did you enjoy Christmas as a kid?

Foxy: "What's not to like about Christmas when you are a kid? A time whenthere was actual snow at Christmas. Being the first in the yard and liningup snowballs to lob at your mates and teachers. Skidding in one strip onthe ice until the caretaker dumps grit on it. Making cards, crackers (outof a toilet roll), cotton wool snowmen and calendars. Mucking around as aking in the nativity play and changing the words to the carols, "Whileshepherds wash their socks night...". Bringing toys in on the last day ofterm was always a doss. A big countdown to a day you thought wouldn't evercome, so you get to your pit early, try to sleep, then wake up with astocking on the end of your bed full with all sorts of stuff, mosh into allyour presents and play out the front of your house, get cold, then back foryour dinner and watch Star Wars. Then play with everything properly onboxing day. Bingo.

"As you got older, what was a bit of fun at the end of the year, I found outit wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Laced with the highly dubiousundertone of supernatural religion coupled with the fact my Mum workedherself to the bone to get us presents and not some obscure Greek bishop wholived in Turkey, that has a Dutch name and was supposed to deliver freepresents to the world all in one night to all the good boys and girls. Oncethat penny dropped, I unsubscribed."

Q: Are you a bit of a scrooge?

Foxy: "I enjoy this time of year as the winter season, the freezing cold,the early nights and to bring some light in the darkest time of the year,reflecting on the year and looking forward to the forthcoming one. I'm upfor that.

"I just don't like or enjoy the way that it's been turned into anobligation, a pious deception, a time of over-consumption, bickering andwaste. The materials to make and deliver 10 million Christmas cards is offthe scale. 7.75 million trees to be cut down to prop up fairies for 2weeks, 10 million turkeys will roast into oblivion, wasting 3,000 tons offoil in the cooking process. In excess of 20 billion will be used on creditcards with many families turning to high interest and "doorstep lenders" tocover any shortfall. 135,000 tons of waste plastic alone, waste wrappingpaper (82km^2) to wrap up Guernsey in, with a high proportion ending in alandfill as opposed to being recycled. What's worse than this type ofChristmas? On some levels Scrooge was right."

Catch "Merry ChristmaSSS" and other brand new songs this Thursday, 17thDecember at the Purple Turtle in London where SSS will be performing at theEarache Christmas party. Find more information athttp://earache.com/party2009

British thrashers EVILE have revealed the identity of their new bassist, whojoins the band following the tragic and untimely death of their latebassist, Mike Alexander.

Mike Alexander passed away on October 5th, 2009 while the band was on tourin Sweden.

EVILE members Matt Drake, Ol Drake and Ben Carter have released thefollowing statement:

"This has been one of the most bizarre and surreal tasks we've ever had toundertake. It isn't like Mike has decided to leave the band and we'resimply finding a new bass player, he was taken from us, and we were forcedto replace him. In effect we had to look for a new Mike, but that wouldnever happen. He was one of a kind, and we'll never forget him.

"We had hundreds upon hundreds of emails from bass players from around theworld (though we can only realistically have a bassist from the UK), and wewant to thank everyone for taking the time out to contact us, and the peoplewho came to jam with us. We only had a certain amount of time to actuallyaudition/jam with bass players before the upcoming tours, to get time in forrehearsing the songs, getting visas sorted etc.

"Our new bass player goes by the name Joel Graham. He's an excellent,experienced bass player, and a really nice guy. We'd all appreciate it ifyou gave him a warm welcome to the band, as this must be a bizarre situationfor him to be in also. We'll be getting some photos taken with him soon soyou can see us with Joel, we just wanted to get the news out there that wehave a new bassist, and that we thank each and every person for auditioning.Mike would be honoured at the amount of respect and admiration you expressedto us through contacting us."

EVILE are set to kick off a headlining European tour in January. The"Infecting Nations" tour will start with a run of UK shows, before the bandheads off to mainland Europe. Joining EVILE on the tour will be Americanthrashers WARBRINGER and Israel's THE FADING.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Detroit death metallers, AND HELL FOLLOWED WITH have set up a webcam in the studio so you can follow the recording of their new album 24/7 via Stickam. Currently in guitar tracking mode, the band is offering unrestricted access to their daily activities. Everything that happens in-studio will happen on camera live for all to see. Also keep an eye out for regular announcements regarding live video chats that the band will conduct during breaks in recording. They can happen at any time so keep glued to their Stickam, Twitter and MySpace pages to find out when they'll occur.

AND HELL FOLLOWED WITH guitarist, Kyle McIlmurray also issued this brief studio update: "We worked for about a week on drum tracking, but now they're done and they came out killer - sound incredible. We just started the guitars yesterday and we're going to keep on going through end of the week. We've been recording each day for no less than 15 hours, which can obviously get exhausting, but when we really need to chill out, we've got an Xbox on hand so we just kill some things and we're good to go." AND HELL FOLLOWED WITH will be holed up in Dreadcore Productions in White Lake, MI throughout the entire month, breaking only for a number of one-off dates around Michigan. The band's Josh Wichman-produced EARACHE debut is set for release in 2010.

British thrashers EVILE have revealed the lucky winners of their recentraffle, which was set up to raise money for the family of the band's latebassist, Mike Alexander.

EVILE hosted two memorial shows in the UK last week to honour MikeAlexander. The show included performances from MUTANT and GAMA BOMB, aswell a special cover set from EVILE with members of the other bands helpingout. A raffle was held at each show, with many incredible prizes up forgrabs which were kindly donated by bands and artists such as METALLICA,SLAYER, IRON MAIDEN, MEGADETH, MACHINE HEAD, OZZY OSBOURNE and more.

"Thank you to everyone who bought a raffle ticket. You've no idea how muchyou have helped Mike's family at this moment in time. They are overwhelmedwith the support. Thank you to all who came to the memorial shows, andeveryone who helped out. We have four guitars up for auction on Ebay, frombands such as Exodus, Machine Head and Trivium."

EVILE are auctioning guitars which were kindly donated by Jackson guitars,Phil Demmel of MACHINE HEAD, Gary Holt of EXODUS and Paolo Gregoletto ofTRIVIUM. View the items and place your bid athttp://www.mikealexander.co.uk/raffle.php

Earache Records is very proud to announce the signing of Canadian thrashmetal pioneers ANNIHILATOR to a European deal.

Since releasing their classic ALICE IN HELL debut in 1989, ANNIHILATOR hasconsistently played heads-down, no-frills metal, led by guitar virtuoso JEFFWATERS.

Now, in 2009, Earache is proud to welcome one of the originators of thewhole melodic-thrash style to it's roster, with a brand new (13th) studioalbum set to be released in the new year. A selection of back cataloguealbums are also due to be released at a later date.

ANNIHILATOR guitarist and main-man JEFF WATERS comments:

"Finding a label home for Annihilator in Europe has never been difficult.Finding a good, professional and stable one, that really knows metal, isanother matter. We found one! Earache and Annihilator are going to make agreat metal team and I can't think of anyone else that should be putting thenew Annihilator CD out but them! See you all in 2010!"

Earache Records label manager DAN TOBIN adds:

"Annihilator have continually flown the flag for metal in general and thrashin particular for many years, and with Jeff Waters at the helm have producedsome of the most innovative and distinctive metal releases around. Earachelooks forward to teaming up with Jeff and spreading the gospel ofAnnihilator far and wide with a killer new album that is sure to surprise alot of people with its genuine intensity and aggression."

Floridian extreme metallers ORDER OF ENNEAD have finished recording theirsecond album. The band have set AN EXAMINATION OF BEING as the title forthe new album.

AN EXAMINATION OF BEING was recorded at Audio Hammer Studios in Sanford,Florida with producer Mark Lewis (TRIVIUM, CHIMAIRA, ALL THAT REMAINS), whoalso produced ORDER OF ENNEAD's eponymous 2008 self-titled debut.

ORDER OF ENNEAD lead guitarist John Li comments:

"So what can I say about this new album? In my honest opinion, it's muchheavier and darker than our self-titled debut, more cohesive, thematic,melodic, but not completely over the top. In a nutshell, the works. To me,the songs sound totally different than the demos and I was blown away afterthe songs began to take form. They sound BIG.

"The recording process went as smooth as ever and the results werespectacular, due in part to the genius of our producer/engineer Mark Lewis.He's got an ear like a bat and can spot an out of tune guitar a mile away; areal no-bullshit kind of guy who can really get it done in there.

"Kev's guitars sound heavy as hell, Steve's drums are tight and powerful,and I must say at the risk of tooting my own horn, I played some great stuffas well (shameless, I know)."

Monday, December 14, 2009

Floridian extreme metallers, ORDER OF ENNEAD have posted several new studio videos exclusively on SickDrummer.com. The clips include many in-depth peeks behind the making of their forthcoming April 2010 release, (tentatively titled) AN EXAMINATION OF BEING. Watch as drummer, Steve Asheim (DEICIDE) presents raw footage of his drum tracking sessions and gives viewers a tour of his recording kit at Audio Hammer Studios in Sanford, FL. Guitarist/Vocalist, Kevin Quirion (DEICIDE) also provides candid footage of his vocal tracking sessions, as well as the lead guitar sessions featuring John Li.

Watch a comprehensive behind the scenes look at the studio work for ORDER OF ENNEAD's upcoming album, AN EXAMINATION OF BEING at http://bit.ly/4GmjPl

ORDER OF ENNEAD guitarist/vocalist, Kevin Quirion has also been keeping an updated studio blog at http://bit.ly/2IYSKjProduced by Mark Lewis (ORDER OF ENNEAD, TRIVIUM, CHIMAIRA, ALL THAT REMAINS) AN EXAMINATION OF BEING is due for release in April 2010.

WHITE WIZZARD will be trading their axes for guns as the five band membersturn into rugged outlaws and bring true heavy metal to the wild west. Farfrom the typical "guys grimacing in a warehouse" metal videos that havebecome the norm, "Over the Top" will be a lighthearted video which promisesto entertain with a fun story line.

The video for "Over the Top" is being shot with Dave Vorhes, who previouslydirected WHITE WIZZARD's first music video for the track "High Speed GTO".Fans of the first video will instantly recognise "Over the Top" as a sequelto the "High Speed GTO" video, with the same classic car, an evil sorcererand the legendary White Wizzard himself set to make an appearance.

The OVER THE TOP album was recorded with producer Ralph Patlan (MEGADETH,UFO, MICHAEL SCHENKER) and is due to be released in February, 2010.

WHITE WIZZARD are set to headline Earache Records' free 2009 Xmas Party thisThursday, 17th December at the Purple Turtle in London, UK. The event willbe the band's first ever show in the UK and to celebrate, the band will begiving out limited edition copies of their debut 7" vinyl "Over the Top"single.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

GuitarWorld.com has posted an exclusive new video guitar lesson featuring WHITE WIZZARD's Erik Kluiber teaching viewers how to solo in the style of famed METALLICA guitarist, Kirk Hammett. Kluiber, an accomplished professional guitar teacher in his spare time, explains several techniques that are trademarks of Hammett's soloing style. Erik's lesson is perfect for players at any level, whether they are just starting out or want to perfect the tiny piece of soloing that they just can't get down.

WHITE WIZZARD recently finished recording OVER THE TOP, their full-length follow-up to the HIGH SPEED GTO mini-album. OVER THE TOP was recorded with producer Ralph Patlan (MEGADETH, UFO, MICHAEL SCHENKER) and is due to be released in North America on March 3rd, 2010.

Catch WHITE WIZZARD on tour in the USA with KORPIKLAANI, TYR and SWASHBUCKLE in January, 2010 at the following shows:

Fresh off a headlining European tour in support of their latest album, TALESFROM THE GRAVE IN SPACE, Irish thrashers GAMA BOMB took some time out tofeature in the latest Kerrang! podcast.

Frontman Philly Byrne and bassist Joe McGuigan spoke to Kerrang! to discussTALES FROM THE GRAVE IN SPACE and the reasons behind making the albumavailable as a free download. They also pay tribute to late EVILE bassistMike Alexander, following performances from GAMA BOMB at two recent memorialshows for Mike.

TALES FROM THE GRAVE IN SPACE features 12 tracks of frantically fast, funthrash and is available to download now, absolutely free, including artwork.The album will remain a free download forever, and fans and non-fans alikeare encouraged to download it and pass it on to everyone you know.

Monday, December 07, 2009

Los Angeles' traditional heavy metal act WHITE WIZZARD are planning to giveaway free copies of their new debut 7-inch single next week at their firstever UK show.

WHITE WIZZARD are set to bring true heavy metal back to the UK as the bandheadlines Earache Records' 2009 Xmas Party at the Purple Turtle in Londonnext Thursday, 17th December, marking the band's first ever performance onUK soil.

WHITE WIZZARD will be handing out copies of their debut 7-inch single at theshow, featuring the title track from their upcoming debut full-length album,"Over The Top", as well as a cover of "Gates Of Gehenna" by CLOVEN HOOF.The 7-inch comes on black vinyl and is limited to only 300 copies, whichwill be handed out on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Earache's 2009 Xmas Party is open to the public and entry is completelyfree. As well as headliners WHITE WIZZARD, British crossover thrashers SSSwill also be performing, plus MUTANT with Ol Drake from EVILE. There willalso be heavy metal DJ sets from legendary NWOBHM DJ and Soundhouse founderNeal Kay, plus Lady Gaga's DJ and resolute metalhead, Lady Starlight.

For free entry, UK metalheads should text the word PARTY to 60300, then headto the Purple Turtle in Camden on Thursday, 17th December for some festivemetal mayhem. Doors open at 7pm.

WHITE WIZZARD recently finished recording OVER THE TOP, their full-lengthfollow-up to the HIGH SPEED GTO mini-album. OVER THE TOP was recorded withproducer Ralph Patlan (MEGADETH, UFO, MICHAEL SCHENKER) and is due to bereleased in February, 2010.

Catch WHITE WIZZARD on tour in the USA with KORPIKLAANI, TYR and SWASHBUCKLEin January, 2010 at the following shows:

Thursday, December 03, 2009

St. Albans, UK hardcore act, YOUR DEMISE is heading to North America for the very first time as part of the Small Town Shakedown Touralongside THE GHOST INSIDE, FOR THE FALLEN DREAMS and SUFFOKATE.

Having conquered the UK with their blend of crushing hardcore and flourishes of cutting edge drum/bass, YOUR DEMISE looks to take North America by force on their first tour of the continent. Also their first North American tour in support of IGNORANCE NEVER DIES, the band will be steamrolling through each city from late-January through mid-February, making sure that every single audience member is sweaty, battered, bruised and never forgets the name YOUR DEMISE.

Veterans of some of the largest music festivals the UK has to offer, YOUR DEMISE know how to work an audience like none other. Expect the band's street tough attitude and demand for non-stop action to knock people on their collective asses and keep them coming back for more.

Detroit death metallers AND HELL FOLLOWED WITH have entered Dreadcore Productions in White Lake, MI to record a full length album that will be released in 2010 on EARACHE RECORDS.

AND HELL FOLLOWED WITH guitarist, Kyle McIlmurray chimed in with what the band aims to accomplish during their time recording. "We started our sessions in the studio on Tuesday with our good friend, (produce) Josh Wichman at 10am sharp. We've gotten great reactions to what we've written so far and we feel that everything's going to pay off will. We've taken the best of our strengths and poured it into each riff and each lyric."

The band will be holed up in Dreadcore throughout the entire month, breaking only for a number of one-off dates around Michigan. Focused only on creating the best record they can, the band has a lot of work to fill the many hours they will spend in the studio. "We'll be recording about 11 or 12 songs," says McIlmurray, who adds, "we'll probably up that number for bonus tracks and exclusives that we'll be writing during the sessions."

Once the sessions are over, the AND HELL FOLLOWED WITH guitarist says to expect the band to continue doing what they do best - "a lot of touring and a lot of time on the road." AND HELL FOLLOWED WITH's EARACHE RECORDS debut is set for release in 2010.

This past summer, EARACHE RECORDS signed AND HELL FOLLOWED WITH. Formed 2 years ago in Detroit, MI, AND HELL FOLLOWED WITH has taken great influence from death metal legends such as DECIDE and co-mingled them with modern touches popularized by the likes of WHITECHAPEL and OCEANO. The band has toured non-stop throughout middle America and the west coast for a 2008 Statik Factory-released entitled DOMAIN. Over the course of their relentless tour schedule, AND HELL FOLLOWED WITH have opened eyes, broken jaws and kicked the door down into scenes that many figured unreachable. With a solid combination of modern, sub-woofer smashing extreme music perfection and a classy, hands-on approach to their fanbase that's second to none, AND HELL FOLLOWED WITH looks forward to waving the EARACHE flag for some time to come.

British thrashers EVILE recently recorded a PANTERA track for the upcomingDimebag Darrell tribute album, which will be released on the cover of the200th issue of the UK's Metal Hammer magazine.

The special CD and magazine are being released to coincide with thefive-year anniversary of Dimebag's passing, and will be available in shopson December 16th.

Alongside various other well-known bands such as MACHINE HEAD, EVILE wereasked to record a song as a tribute to the late guitarist. EVILE recorded acover of the track "Cemetary Gates", and this tragically turned out to bethe band's last recording before the untimely death of their own bassist,Mike Alexander, who passed away on October 5th while on tour in Sweden.

"The day we got the call from our manager, Julie Weir, saying Metal Hammerhave asked us to pay tribute to Dimebag Darrell by covering a Pantera song,we couldn't have been more excited and honoured. I mean, how many morebands are there more worthy of paying tribute to the man? With us all beingfans of Pantera, we swiftly said yes. Mike though was the biggest Panterafan. He'd seen them years ago and absolutely worshipped Dimebag.

"After Dime got killed, Mike couldn't listen to "Cemetary Gates" anymore.He'd always ask us to skip the track in the car/van/bus because it was toomuch for him. So when we chose to do the track it was tough for Mike, butI'm glad he did it. It turned out to be the last song he recorded, which tome is a strangely "appropriate" tribute to him and Dimebag. I remember himnearing the verge of tears whilst I was doing the tremolo bends at the endof the track.

"We hope Pantera/Dimebag fans find this a fitting tribute from us, as we'resimply fans ourselves who've been given this rare honour."

Metal Hammer editor Alexander Milas comments:

"I was genuinely over the moon when Evile volunteered to produce a track forour upcoming Dimebag tribute, a stunningly rendered cover of Pantera'sclassic 'Cemetary Gates'. So when the truly tragic news of Mike Alexander'sall-too-premature departure from this world hit the office, the tragic ironywasn't lost on me or anyone here that Mike Alexander's tribute to theimmortal legacy of Dimebag would also be a final testament to his ownimpeccable musicianship and commitment to the music we love.

"To understate the case slightly, it's a very special track indeed, andwe're honoured that it's a part of our upcoming tribute collection. Rest inpeace Dimebag, and rest in peace Mike Alexander."

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

British thrashers EVILE have been overwhelmed by the support they havereceived from bands and artists the world over in response to the recenttragic death of their bassist, MIKE ALEXANDER.

EVILE are set to host two memorial shows to honour MIKE ALEXANDER, whichwill take place on December 7th at Rio's in Leeds and December 8th at theUnderworld in London. A massive raffle has been arranged, with rare andsigned items up for grabs which have generously been donated by manywell-known bands and artists. Raffle tickets will be available at thememorial shows for £5 each and can also be bought online for £7.50 each.Some of the items will be auctioned after the shows.

"This support has re-enforced my passion for heavy metal and its community.I'm so glad we are part of such an amazing and friendly group of people.This was a big reason Mike loved heavy metal - the people he'd meet.Everyone was, and is, so supportive and friendly.

"The support has helped so much. Mike's girlfriend, Hayley, was sooverwhelmed by the support she texted me saying "Long live heavy metal!",and that's something I wouldn't imagine hearing from her! Haha.

OCEANO are used to touring relentlessly, having been on the road since theend of October when the band kicked off their first ever European tour withARCHITECTS, DESPISED ICON, IWRESTLEDABEARONCE and more. Proving theirdedication to their fans and their love for playing live, OCEANO startedtheir North American tour the very day after their last European show andare set to keep bringing the beef until just days before Christmas.

While on the highly successful Imperial Never Say Die tour in Europe, OCEANOfrontman ADAM WARREN took time out at the band's performance in London to doan interview with SMOKE RADIO.

Tune in to SMOKE RADIO online tonight (Wednesday, 2nd December) at 9pm UKtime at http://www.smokeradio.co.uk to catch the show and hear ADAM WARRENdiscussing OCEANO's first ever European shows, the fun and toils of livingon the road, and the band's crushing debut album, DEPTHS.

Catch OCEANO on the California Love Tour at the following remaining dates:

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

For the past month, Canadian heavy metal heroes CAULDRON have been tearingtheir way around North America, leaving their infectious breed of timeless,true heavy metal ringing in everyone's ears along the way.

CAULDRON have been supporting labelmates MUNICIPAL WASTE on the NorthAmerican leg of the "Waste the World" tour, and on this coming Sunday,December 6th, the tour will reach CAULDRON's hometown of Toronto, where theband are set to capture their show on film for an upcoming DVD.

The show will take place at the Opera House, where CAULDRON will be doingtheir utmost to put on a spectacular show for their hometown crowd. Torontobangers can be assured of a particularly wild and crazy night, and withCAULDRON taking to the stage early, everyone should get down to the OperaHouse early for opening.

CAULDRON have been keeping a tour blog on the "Waste the World" tour, sofans can stay up-to-date with all of the crazy mishaps touring brings. Readthe band's latest blog below:

"Yes, we played Bellingham. Someone's gotta put Bellingham on the map. Youcan thank us later. I think we arrived sometime in the afternoon, around 3.Saw a couple record stores on the way into town so we made sure to stop by.Pretty slim pickin's in Bellingham. We left with 1 Frehley's Comet -Live... Plus 2356 VHS, 1 Beavis and Butthead "Butt-O-Ween" VHS and 1Sepultura - Morbid Visions postcard to mail home to Mom. It was pouringrain here, a rude awakening after the tropical paradise of LA. Ian's sisterJane came down from Vancouver to see the sound check because she heardCauldron's are really good.

"After that it was time to hang out on the bus watching Robocop while athrong of fans waited outside until the doors opened. Crazy punk guy withmultiple knives was up front along with the true chi's from Stryker. Goodset overall, even after some dude took our quality Washington brewedRainiers off the stage. They even come with chunks of genuine Northwestdirt in every can. This was a late gig, and MW didn't hit the stage untilafter the stroke of midnite. A truly awkward crowd had gathered for theirset. When Tony yelled "circle pit", people must have misheard and thoughthe said "backwards triangle and square pits simultaneously". After packingup the gear in more rain, it was time to hit the Canadian border. We musthave done something right because we arrived at 3am, they stamped ourpassports and said "see ya", even with everyone's goofy and thuggish lookingpassports. And who's gonna believe that a long haired Korean tour manager'sname is Lewis Lovely? Our tour mates Off With Their Heads were not so luckyand had to drop off the Canadian portion of the tour. Anyone know anybands?"

Monday, November 30, 2009

"Death Metal Live", a value-packed set featuring four full DVDs of classiclive death metal, is out now in Europe for less than the cost of just oneregular CD.

With 7 hours and over 100 tracks of prime, live death metal, along withextra features such as documentaries and promo videos, "Death Metal Live"offers a value-packed set which is essential for any self-respecting deathmetal fan, and an excellent Christmas bargain.

"Death Metal Live" features four full, original DVDs from some of the mostinfluential and genre-defining death metal artists of all time, including astandalone DECAPITATED live DVD for the first time ever. The four brutallive DVDs all come housed together in a custom sleeve to offer onelow-priced, limited edition set.

Included in "Death Metal Live" are:

Deicide - When London BurnsCarcass - Wake Up And Smell The... CarcassNapalm Death - The DVDDecapitated - Live At The Rescue Rooms

Thursday, November 26, 2009

To celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, Earache Records is holding amassive Black Friday sale from now until Wednesday, December 2nd, with freeshipping available on all items for US and Canadian customers.

Earache's US webstore now features a completely revamped pack section forthe ultimate bargain, plus loads of reductions on CDs and t-shirts - withCDs starting at just $1. Included in the sale is brand new merchandise frombands such as CAULDRON, GODFLESH, GAMA BOMB (including an exclusive color ofthe "Survival Of The Fastest" LP) and OCEANO, plus the all-new EaracheRepetition shirt. The new "Death Metal Live" box set with 4 killer DVDs isalso just $15.

And if that isn't enough to be thankful for, there's also a massivecompilation pack featuring 30 CDs, 3 DVDs and the "Earache Extreme MetalRacing" PC game for less than $100!

European fans, fear not - we may not have Thanksgiving, but that doesn'tmean we can't hack away at our prices too!

To get in the festive spirit, the Earache European webstore is offering ahuge range of t-shirts starting at just £3, as well as many massivereductions on Earache CDs, with titles available from an astounding 50p.There are also plenty of great value packs available, plus many stunningreductions on titles from other labels such as Displeased, Napalm, Relapse,Season Of Mist and Self Made God.

The Earache European Holiday Sale ends on 11th January, so grab some greatholiday bargains while stocks last at http://earache.com/webstore

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

British thrashers EVILE have thanked the many bands and artists who havedonated items for the raffle to support the family of the band's latebassist, MIKE ALEXANDER, who tragically passed away on October 5th while theband was on tour in Sweden.

EVILE are set to host two memorial shows to honour MIKE ALEXANDER, whichwill take place on December 7th at Rio's in Leeds and December 8th at theUnderworld in London. The shows will feature live performances from Irishthrashers GAMA BOMB plus special guests MUTANT and SEREGON, as well as acover set from EVILE, with members of the other bands, playing some ofMIKE's favourite thrash songs. Tickets for the shows are only availabledirectly from the venue for £8 in advance, or for £10 on the door.

A massive raffle has been arranged, with rare and signed items from bandsand artists such as METALLICA, SLAYER, IRON MAIDEN, OZZY OSBOURNE, MEGADETH,EXODUS, AMON AMARTH and many more up for grabs. Raffle tickets will beavailable at the memorial shows for £5 each and can also be bought onlinefor £7.50 each.

"We're absolutely blown away by the amount of support we and Mike's familyhave received direct from all these amazing people and artists. We hope wecan raise as much as possible to help Mike's family to cover many thingsneeded and to help his kids and girlfriend make up for the huge loss theyall have to deal with now.

"Please show your support by grabbing a raffle ticket, or coming down to thememorial shows in December. We'll be playing a surprise (whoops) cover setfor Mike.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Swedish melodic death metal pioneers AT THE GATES are set to release THEFLAMES OF THE END, a brand new 3-disc DVD set, through Earache Records.

AT THE GATES released their definitive album, SLAUGHTER OF THE SOUL - oftenregarded as one of the all-time greatest metal albums - on Earache in 1995,before touring the world and abruptly disbanding. Members of the band wenton to play major roles in other notorious metal acts such as THE HAUNTED andCRADLE OF FILTH, before reforming for a one-off tour in 2008 to rapturousresponse.

Now, to celebrate AT THE GATES' massively influential career and historicalreunion tour, the band will be releasing THE FLAMES OF THE END, anextensive, in-depth and definitive 3-disc DVD set on February 22nd, 2010.

Housed in a deluxe six-panel DVD digipak with a 40-page colour booklet, THEFLAMES OF THE END will include three indispensable DVDs:

Disc 1 'Under A Serpent Sun - The Story of At The Gates' - a brand newdocumentary with a running time of over 2 hours, detailing the band's entirecareer with exclusive interviews and footage, filmed and directed byguitarist Anders Bjorler.

Disc 2 'Purgatory Unleashed - Live at Wacken' - a 75-minute live set fromthe band's reunion set at the Wacken festival in 2008 in front of 100,000people.

Disc 3 'Only the Dead Are Smiling' - 26 rare and archive live performancesof the band playing in locations around the globe from 1991 - 2008.

"It's now almost two-and-a-half years after the first telephone call to theguys regarding the reunion plans for 2008. Looking back at it today, I amvery pleased and happy we pulled it off in the short amount of time andclearing all the planning hurdles with our other bands; The Haunted,Disfear, Brujeria, Nemhain, Slakattack etc.

"I started preparing for the documentary 'Under A Serpent Sun' already in2007. I got myself a new camera, 'cause the old one gave up on me. Thedownside to my filming plans was actually reliving all the feelingsassociated with At the Gates. I didn't want to miss anything. I talked tofans, journalists, and everybody was just overwhelmed by the whole thing.All of us basically took the time to experience this tour to the fullestextent. We appreciated every second of it, because we knew that in a fewmonths it would all be over. All the troubles of the past were washed away.We were basically enjoying touring again.

"After the reunion tour, I sat down and had a look at all the material wehad collected. We had a bunch of stuff filmed from pretty much everywherewe played. The quality was very diverse, but at the same time intriguing,and it gave me the inspiration to continue on the documentary. I had madesome interviews beforehand with Tomas, and continued tracking down peoplewith knowledge of the past - Alf, Jesper Jarold from At the Gates, and abunch of people from other bands at the time. We hunted down a few hundredold pictures, old crappy VHS and HI-8 recordings from the rehearsal room,live shows, on the road footage etc... ending up with a 130-minutedocumentary. I want to express gratitude to the people helping us out withold material: photos, videos, stories etc... It wouldn't have been possiblewithout your help!

"The Wacken show was planned ahead as being the #1 show on the upcoming DVD.It captured us at our finest moment, just after the US tour, and it'sdefinitely one of our finest moments. We were blown away of the fact thatwe actually played for 60,000 people.

"So, enjoy 'The Flames of the End' DVD box set. We have really put ourhearts into this release, and it's a fine last document of the band."

Thursday, November 19, 2009

The band are currently on the North American leg of the tour in support oftheir new album, MASSIVE AGGRESSIVE, which debuted at #10 on the BillboardHeatseekers chart.

MUNICIPAL WASTE drummer DAVE WITTE posts:

"This tour is going great, all the bands are bringing it each night - it's agreat bill with something for everyone. We're nine shows in already andsadly Goatwhore departed last night, we'll miss them. Off With Their Headsjoins us tomorrow to mix things up even more. We're playing a smorgasbordof old and new material and Waste fans new and old are stoked on it as wellas us!

"In Texas, in Houston we survived a flooded venue, moved the show to anotherroom and played and extended set for our awesome supportive fans and inAustin, we busted out our cover version of S.O.D.'s 'United Forces' for thelast time (we've been playing on and off while touring over the past fewyears), with the man Billy Milano himself singing."

Catch MUNICIPAL WASTE live with special guests CAULDRON plus others at thefollowing shows:

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Kevin Quirion, vocalist/guitarist of the Floridian extreme metal band, ORDER OF ENNEAD has been keeping an updated MySpace blog detailing the daily exploits of the band as they record the followup to their eponymous 2008 debut album with producer, Mark Lewis (ORDER OF ENNEAD, TRIVIUM, CHIMAIRA, ALL THAT REMAINS) at Audio Hammer Studios in Sanford, FL.

Quirion's studio updates have ranged from the informative to the downright bizarre - such as the entry that details how a tragic office shooting coincidentally would delay the day's recording schedule. Here's the latest update written by the ORDER OF ENNEAD frontman this past Monday:

"Day 5

Nov 16th 2009

Just a day of all work. Tracked five songs today and it all went very smooth. Mark and myself were the only ones in the studio today. Only two more to do tomorrow. Might start bass and vocals or we might do some random atmosphere and solo sections. We'll see how we feel tomorrow."

British death metallers IGNOMINIOUS INCARCERATION have revealed the datesfor a UK headlining tour in December.

Following numerous tours with the likes of CRYPTOPSY, BENEATH THE MASSACRE,TRIGGER THE BLOODSHED and THE BOY WILL DROWN, IGNOMINIOUS INCARCERATION willkick-start the 2009 holiday season with a headlining UK tour, featuringsupport from WHILE SHE SLEEPS.

Catch IGNOMINIOUS INCARCERATION on "The Wintour" at the following shows:

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

British thrashers EVILE have confirmed a full European headlining tour for2010.

EVILE will kick off the "Infecting Nations" tour in January with a string ofUK shows, before heading off to mainland Europe for the rest of the tour.The tour will mark the band's first official shows since the tragic passingof their bassist, MIKE ALEXANDER, on October 5th.

Joining EVILE on the Infecting Nations tour will be American thrashersWARBRINGER and Israel's THE FADING.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Toronto traditional metal trio, CAULDRON have been updating their Waste the World tour blog with brand new tales of total debauchery such as the beginning of their newest entry:

"We awoke to Mike yelling "Showers!" at everyone who was still hammered but desperate enough to get out of bed to take one. Dave, Chris, Ian and Sean all got up, not having showered for about 5 days. The parking lot was next to a high school with buses full of high school girl's basketball teams pulling up for the big match. They must have enjoyed the sight of Ian standing on the sidewalk"

CAULDRON also gave their take on the now-infamous flooding that occurred at the Houston, TX stop on the tour: "Cauldron played with no mishaps. Phobia played with no mishaps. Then Goatwhore played and all hell broke loose. A really cool kid hanging from a pipe on the ceiling decided to kick a sprinkler off. Filthy looking black water erupted from everywhere and within minutes the room was flooded. Everyone scrambled to get the equipment out before it was destroyed…This actually turned out to be one of the best shows so far."

Keep up with CAULDRON by reading their Waste The World tour blog at http://bit.ly/124oYL CAULDRON heralds the return of true rock stars back into the musical landscape. They are one of today's rare bands who not only appear to be larger than life on stage, but they also live life just as large while off of it. Read the band's blogs from their previous 2 tours to see why CAULDRON is the real deal.

Catch CAULDRON on the Waste The World Tour with headliners,MUNICIPAL WASTE alongside GOATWHORE (11/6-11/16), OFF WITH THEIR HEADS (11/18-12/2), BRUTAL TRUTH (12/4-12/11) and PHOBIA. Here are the dates:

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Philly Byrne, frontman of the irish thrash act, GAMA BOMB recently spoke to Scott Alisoglu of TeethOfTheDivine.com. In a comprehensive interview, Philly, ever the outspoken one, touches upon the reasons EARACHE teamed up with Rapidshare to deliver GAMA BOMB's new album, TALES FROM THE GRAVE IN SPACE for free, the effects of file sharing on the music industry and how the band proudly waves the banner for thrash in an ever-changing scene: "Everywhere lately you see thrash bands jumping ship or aggressively retuning their style, which is fine, but we don't feel the urge. Our formula for music, and our delivery system for it, is perfect for us.

Two things dare driving the current "cooling off" of new thrash bands: one is the urge to grow musically, and the other is the fear that the ship is sinking, the scene is dying, style is turning and bands are afraid of becoming a joke. For the first, we grow musically by refining, by developing character and chops and balls. And as for the second, we've been together for seven years, popular for two, and have no fear of going back to "unpopularity" in whatever form its meant to take. We've never been cool anyway, so being passé is about as scary as a hairbrush to us. We'll stick with the thrash thanks!"

Irish thrashers GAMA BOMB have released their brand new album, TALES FROM THE GRAVE IN SPACE, worldwide as a free download. TALES FROM THE GRAVE IN SPACE is absolutely free, including artwork, and will remain a free download forever. Fans and non-fans alike are encouraged to download the album and even pass it on to everyone you know. Download the album now, powered by RapidShare, the world's leading online file hosting company, at http://www.earache.com/gamabomb